


The Pin

by justanoutlaw



Category: The Baby-Sitters Club (TV 2020)
Genre: Emotional, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:09:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29894049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanoutlaw/pseuds/justanoutlaw
Summary: Watson and Kristy are still awkwardly toeing the line of their relationship. He gives her something that just might help bridge that gap.
Relationships: Watson Brewer & Kristy Thomas
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	The Pin

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a plot from one of the Little Sister books (Karen's Big Sister), though this is totally from Kristy's POV. I am a sucker for a good found family/adopted dad trope (even though Watson never adopted Kristy in the books, a girl can dream for the series).

The package arrives in the mail on a Saturday afternoon. Karen rips through the house, screaming at the top of her lungs “Daddy! It’s for you, Daddy!” Kristy cringes, just as she does every time Karen forgets to use her “inside voice”. Her mother likes to remind her that she was (and still can be) the same way. Always excited, talking a mile a minute and up in everyone’s business. And despite how annoying Karen can be, Kristy finds she enjoys having a little sister. Maybe it helps that she’s only there a couple of weekends out of the month.

Kristy doesn’t even bother to head to wherever they are to investigate, she really doesn’t care about Watson’s mail. In fact, she’s been waiting on some new shirts she ordered for the club, but Karen would’ve been belting her name too, had they arrived.

After lunch that afternoon, Watson asks if she’ll come outside with him. Despite the strides they’ve made, Kristy still feels a little weird when they’re alone. She cringes at the memories of how she treated him early on. Thinking back, he tried so hard to be nice to her and her brothers, but all Kristy could think of was change. Since meeting Dawn and Stacey, starting the club, she’s realized maybe change isn’t so bad after all. Even if it comes in the form of a dorky step-dad who doesn’t realize he’s not funny.

Kristy obliges and follows him into the cold Connecticut winter. She shoves her hands into her parka pockets and wiggles a bit to keep warm. Watson simply smiles at her and she blushes, hoping that he’ll just think it’s her cheeks turning pink from the cold.

“So, what’s up?” Kristy asks. “I don’t think my mom will appreciate if I get hypothermia.”

Watson laughs, shaking his head. “I just wanted to get away from the madness in there.”

Kristy shrugs. Despite it being a large house, there always seems to be someone lurking around the corner. “Okay.”

“I guess I’ll just cut to the chase. My great-aunt Joan died.”

Kristy cranes her memory of the large Brewer family tree, trying to see if she can find a great-aunt Joan, but comes up short. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” It’s the answer she’s been trained to say. She’d have a bigger reaction if it were Neenie Brewer.

Watson laughs again, causing Kristy to arch an eyebrow. “No, it’s okay. I didn’t know her all that well.” A weight lifts of Kristy’s chest. “However, she did leave me something in her estate. It’s been passed down for generations and we like to keep it with the women in our family.”

That’s not a unique thing for the Brewers. Kristy knows her mother’s engagement ring has been in the family for generations, as has the house and many of the things within it. Why would this be any different?

“Do you want me to wrap it for Mom?” Kristy asks, wondering why she’s standing there.

Watson shakes his head. “No, sweetie.” The nickname unnerves her a bit. Her mom has a million of them for Kristy, much to her chagrin. She’s told her a million times that she’s not a baby anymore and her mom just laughs, saying she’ll always be _her_ baby. Gross. Watson must pick up on her discomfort because he gives her half a smile. “Sorry. Weird?”

“Little bit.”

“Anyway, my point is, your mom and Karen, they have enough family heirlooms. So do Andrew and I have things planned for your brothers. But you…” Watson reaches into his pocket and removes a black jewelry box, extending it towards Kristy.

At first, she regards it like it’s a bomb that might explode. Watson has given her things before, paid for her bridesmaid’s dress, given her money when she heads shopping, but it’s all small potatoes compared to this. It has to be a joke of some kind. She’s Watson’s step-daughter. Karen would normally be the one receiving this.

“Watson…I mean…are you sure? Maybe this should go to Karen…”

Watson holds up a hand signaling her to shut up. “Like I said, Karen will get enough in her lifetime. But this is something I want to go to my oldest daughter.”

Daughter. Not step-daughter, but just…daughter. Plain and simple. Kristy bites down on her lip, remembering to the night her mom announced the engagement. She told herself that she’d never let Watson Brewer see her cry and now she’s dangerously close. She looks up at him, his eyes full of sincerity and promise.

Kristy’s mind goes back to her biological father. She has nothing from his extended family, knows next to nothing about him. The most she has to remember him by are a few worn birthday cards and a baseball glove that doesn’t fit anymore, but that’s about it. She hasn’t heard from him in ages, the postcards stopped long before middle school.

And yet, there’s Watson. The man she’s known for not even 2 years, calling her his _daughter_. Giving her a family heirloom meant for the Brewer family. She’s not even a Brewer, she’s still a Thomas.

How can a man who barely knows her, treat her so well?  
  


Kristy wordlessly takes the box from him and flips it open. Inside is a large pin encrusted with blue diamonds that she assumes are real. To be quite honest, it’s ugly and not her style at all.

And yet…she loves it. Because it’s a gift from the man who views her as family.

Her step-father. Her…father?

Is that a thought too soon?

She looks back up at him, giving up on the premise that she will never cry in front of Watson Brewer. A few warm tears fall down her chilly face. Watson wipes them away and she doesn’t completely hate it.

“Thanks…” Kristy goes to try out the “D” word, but it doesn’t sound right. Not yet. So instead, she whispers, “Thanks, Watson. I’ll keep it somewhere safe.”

“You’re welcome.”

Kristy closes the box and tucks it into her pocket. She has a jewelry box with a few things she’s gotten from Nannie or well-meaning relatives over the years. It’ll stay in there until a special occasion, if one ever pops up.

In the meantime, it’ll be something nice to look at if she ever doubts her place in the Brewer home.


End file.
